The History of Golf

The history of golf is a tricky one to get a proper grasp of. There are several different possible origins, all of which seem to have evidence indicating that their location is where golf actually originated from. The three main possibilities are the Scottish, the Dutch and the Chinese. While the Scottish origins of golf are the most well known and believed, there is evidence supporting the other two origins as well.

Evidence from the Song Dynasty of China, between 900-1279 A.D., point to a golf like game played with 10 different clubs. The different clubs were used to hit a ball into a target, dug as a hole. There are drawings of this game and evidence showing that it was a game for the wealthy.

In the Netherlands, dating back to at least 1297 A.D., there was a game involving hitting a leather ball with a stick. The target was a small hole hundreds of meters away, and the objective was to get the ball into the hole as many times as possible. Other evidence pointing to a Dutch origin of golf is the meaning and origins of the words commonly used in the game. Golf could possibly be traced to the Dutch word “kolf” meaning stick or club. Additionally, another easy to see word origin is that of “putt” which would mean to put into a hole.

So it seems likely that forms of golf were being played by several different civilizations throughout a broad spectrum of time. However it was certainly in Scotland where the game took its more modern form. Scotland takes claim to the origins of golf, pointing to legislature in the 15th century banning the game “gouf” or “gowf”.

Despite different claims to the origins and roots of the game of golf, the oldest golf course in the world is definitively in Scotland. Known as St. Andrews Links or The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews. Theory has it that shepherds knocked stones into rabbit holes on that land as far back as the 1100s A.D.

Different holes were eventually created, possibly as early as the 15th century, throughout the land enveloping St. Andrews. There were 11 different holes and you would play each one of them twice, totaling 22 holes in a round of golf. Several of the holes were then combined, leaving 9 separate holes that you played twice, introducing the modern round of 18 holes of golf.

Since then there has been a mass popularization of the game of golf. It is the leisure activity of choice for about 50 million Americans and is no longer a game for only the wealthy, although many clubs are still expensive and exclusive. The British Open, one of four major championships in the PGA Tour (Professional Golf Association) is still occasionally played at St. Andrews.